text: Rosanne & Andrew's traditional and geeky wedding #Real Weddings: Canada#christian#church#fall weddings#gamers#geeky weddings#gold dress#ontario#tie#video games#wedding dress with sleeves Updated Oct 12 2015 (Posted May 25 2010) Offbeat Editors The offbeat bride: Rosanne – Graphic Designer (and OBT member) Her offbeat partner: Andrew – Warehouse Manager/Comic Artist Location & date of wedding: Church, Park, Rosehill Venue Lounge, Ontario, Canada — September 19, 2009 What made our wedding offbeat: My dress was inspired by an Irish Barbie dress and worn with a circlet; both custom made by local designers. (Less expensive than the regular store-bought dresses by far!) My husband wore a morning coat lined in red, with an ascot. My maid of honour and bridesmaids wore chiffon bell sleeves made by my aunt, designed by myself, keeping with the ye olde look. Instead of the bride/groom slideshow, we had an XBox 360 at the reception because we both love games. The cocktail reception was at a swanky converted lounge, where, admittedly, I splurged on the food stations because I'm a foodie. (No seating plans, no head table!) The grooms cake was made by our friend and had Gundam and Godannar anime figures on it, reflecting our anime-related hobbies. Ended the evening rickrolling everyone with a Nirvana/Rick Astley mash-up. (Some people almost fell to the floor, laughing so hard.) I had the guestbook refinished afterwards with dragon scales by Sunhawk and re-bound by the ribbons in my hair, Andrew's hair and the bridal bouquet. The thank you card was more like a thank you eight page comic book using the photos taken as footage, since my husband is working on his own comic book series (with me assisting). Tell us about your ceremony: We kept the actual ceremonies traditional. This part of the wedding, to me, was the most important. As a Christian, I believe it should be treated with respect. Groom's cake - toppers are male and female robots from "Godannar" anime series Our biggest challenge: Trying to coordinate the booking for the right church and venue for the day. We wanted them to be in fairly close proximity to one another, fit the atmosphere we wanted, be near the centre of the city, and have transit and parking near by. Through patiently sifting through internet directories, e-mailing and calling different churches and venues we finally managed to find what we were looking for. My favorite moment: The moments with my parents just before the wedding. Right at that point where we were pronounced husband and wife. Taking the photos with my ninety-one year old grandmother. Being with all the guests who reflect the many walks of our lives. The impromptu speeches by our best man and maid of honour. The refinished guestbook with dragon scales My funniest moment:The end of the evening. When the DJ announced that the final song was to be played as chosen by the bride and groom, everyone cheered as Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" started to play. Those cheers turned into laughter and stunned faces when the lyrics started and it was Rick Astley's voice singing "Never Gonna Give You Up" to the music of Nirvana. It was a Rick-rolling success! My advice for offbeat brides: Sift through websites, and e-mail to ask for price quotes. It is a great way to save on time instead of personally visiting each place. Indonesian & Dutch snack station Try not to get too too many people involved in the planning. We kept most of our planning secret from others 'til it hit the "point of no return". Hopefully, your guests are made up of family and friends who aren't there to judge you, so, really, there's no reason to get nervous, right? Also, the less of a schedule you have for your reception, the more enjoyable time for you and your guests. What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Planning a wedding is only as hard as you make it. Care to share a few vendor/shopping links? Dress: Heretic, Sandra Huculiak Circlet: Lumiere Designs, Andrea Pope Morning Coat: Korry's Venue: Rosehill Venue Lounge Flowers: East of Eliza, Reed Russell Guestbook Dragonscaling: Christine Hogenkamp Enough talk — show me the wedding porn! PREVIOUS Totally legit comic book wedding invitations! NEXT DIY Dia de los Muertos unity candle Show/Hide comments [ 20 ] Very nice wedding and unique too. Cool idea to have traditional wedding but with added of you in it. love the cake idea tradtional with your favorite things added to it. Thats something different.Congrats to the couple!! Reply Thanks! I believe adding part of "yourself" into your wedding is important as opposed to just going through the motions. 🙂 Reply you are stunning, i love the dueling bridesmaids pic and those sleeves! what a great way to improve on a bridesmaid dress! Reply Thank you! The bridesmaids seem to just take it upon themselves to have some fun. The sleeves were a way to tie-in their dresses with mine without having to do all out custom dresses. In other words, I cheated. XD Reply LOVE the sleeves on that dress!!!!! Reply Thank you! Reply I LOVE that you rickrolled your guests! Your wedding is geeky and classy, best of both worlds! Reply I second that. I think the next step should be announcing that everyone at the wedding lost the game. Reply Thanks! I wanted to rickroll them but not in the obvious way. I came across the mash-up not too long before the wedding date so it was perfect! Ha! Wouldn't that be something? Tell all my guests at the end of the night that they were losers! XD Reply congratulations on keeping the religious parts, that you felt were important, traditional! not EVERYTHING needs customization/offbeatery! Reply Thanks! I feel that there's a time and place for everything! Reply Rickrolling everyone at your wedding should become a new wedding tradition. Good job!! 😀 Everything looks beautiful; I just adore the style of the dresses and the circlet, and of course, the mecha cake. Congrads! Reply Thanks! Who doesn't love a good rickrolling, right? Reply Way to make Rick Astley happen! Also, your guest book rocks! Reply Thanks! (Maybe we should have had Rick Astley pop out of the cake! …maybe not.) Reply Can we get a link for that Rick Roll'd "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? I am DYING to hear it! Reply XD Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-biWb9gU1A …done by DJ Morgoth http://djmorgoth.blogspot.com/2009/11/nirvana-vs-rick-astley-best-remix-of.html Enjoy! Reply I love this wedding! You two look so happy 🙂 Reply Thanks! We're indeed happy and had fun! Reply Thanks everyone! 😀 I can honestly say that it was a fun day and generally stress-free! Reply Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. If you want to promote your stuff on Offbeat Bride, join us as an advertiser instead.


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USDA subsidies in Kane County, Illinois totaled $198 million from 1995-2019‡.
Total USDA - Subsidies in Kane County, Illinois by county, 1995-2019‡
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
‡ Data for 2019 is incomplete and only includes Market Facilitation Program payments made between January 1, 2019 and October 31, 2019.

subset: commoncrawl


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Standard error
The standard error (SE) is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of a statistic.[1] The term may also be used to refer to an estimate of that standard deviation, derived from a particular sample used to compute the estimate.
For example, the sample mean is the usual estimator of a population mean. However, different samples drawn from that same population would in general have different values of the sample mean, so there is a distribution of sampled means (with its own mean and variance). The standard error of the mean (SEM) (i.e., of using the sample mean as a method of estimating the population mean) is the standard deviation of those sample means over all possible samples (of a given size) drawn from the population. Secondly, the standard error of the mean can refer to an estimate of that standard deviation, computed from the sample of data being analyzed at the time.
In regression analysis, the term "standard error" is also used in the phrase standard error of the regression to mean the ordinary least squares estimate of the standard deviation of the underlying errors.[2][3]
Standard error of the mean
The standard error of the mean (SEM) is the standard deviation of the sample-mean's estimate of a population mean. (It can also be viewed as the standard deviation of the error in the sample mean with respect to the true mean, since the sample mean is an unbiased estimator.) SEM is usually estimated by the sample estimate of the population standard deviation (sample standard deviation) divided by the square root of the sample size (assuming statistical independence of the values in the sample):
- s is the sample standard deviation (i.e., the sample-based estimate of the standard deviation of the population), and
- n is the size (number of observations) of the sample.
This estimate may be compared with the formula for the true standard deviation of the sample mean:
- σ is the standard deviation of the population.
This formula may be derived from what we know about the variance of a sum of independent random variables.[4]
- If are independent observations from a population that has a mean and standard deviation , then the variance of the total is
- The variance of must be
- And the standard deviation of must be .
- Of course, is the sample mean .
Note: the standard error and the standard deviation of small samples tend to systematically underestimate the population standard error and deviations: the standard error of the mean is a biased estimator of the population standard error. With n = 2 the underestimate is about 25%, but for n = 6 the underestimate is only 5%. Gurland and Tripathi (1971)[5] provide a correction and equation for this effect. Sokal and Rohlf (1981)[6] give an equation of the correction factor for small samples of n < 20. See unbiased estimation of standard deviation for further discussion.
A practical result: Decreasing the uncertainty in a mean value estimate by a factor of two requires acquiring four times as many observations in the sample. Or decreasing standard error by a factor of ten requires a hundred times as many observations.
Student approximation when σ value is unknown
Template:Rellink In practical applications, the true value of the σ value is unknown. As a result, we need to use an approximation of the Gaussian sample distribution. In this application the standard error is the standard deviation of a t-student distribution. T-distributions are slightly different from the gaussian, and vary depending on the size of the sample. To estimate the Standard error of a t-student distribution it is sufficient to use the sample standard deviation "s" instead of σ, and we could use this value to calculate confidence intervals.
Note: The student's probability distribution is a good approximation of the Gaussian when the sample size is over 100.
Assumptions and usage
If the data are assumed to be normally distributed, quantiles of the normal distribution and the sample mean and standard error can be used to calculate approximate confidence intervals for the mean. The following expressions can be used to calculate the upper and lower 95% confidence limits, where is equal to the sample mean, is equal to the standard error for the sample mean, and 1.96 is the 0.975 quantile of the normal distribution:
In particular, the standard error of a sample statistic (such as sample mean) is the estimated standard deviation of the error in the process by which it was generated. In other words, it is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample statistic. The notation for standard error can be any one of SE, SEM (for standard error of measurement or mean), or SE.
Standard errors provide simple measures of uncertainty in a value and are often used because:
- If the standard error of several individual quantities is known then the standard error of some function of the quantities can be easily calculated in many cases;
- Where the probability distribution of the value is known, it can be used to calculate a good approximation to an exact confidence interval; and
- Where the probability distribution is unknown, relationships like Chebyshev's or the Vysochanskiï–Petunin inequality can be used to calculate a conservative confidence interval
- As the sample size tends to infinity the central limit theorem guarantees that the sampling distribution of the mean is asymptotically normal.
Standard error of mean versus standard deviation
In scientific and technical literature, experimental data is often summarized either using the mean and standard deviation or the mean with the standard error. This often leads to confusion about their interchangeability. However, the mean and standard deviation are descriptive statistics, whereas the standard error of the mean describes bounds on a random sampling process. Despite the small difference in equations for the standard deviation and the standard error, this small difference changes the meaning of what is being reported from a description of the variation in measurements to a probabilistic statement about how the number of samples will provide a better bound on estimates of the population mean, in light of the central limit theorem.
Put simply, the standard error of the sample is an estimate of how far the sample mean is likely to be from the population mean, whereas the standard deviation of the sample is the degree to which individuals within the sample differ from the sample mean. If the population standard deviation is finite, the standard error of the sample will tend to zero with increasing sample size, because the estimate of the population mean will improve, while the standard deviation of the sample will tend to the population standard deviation as the sample size increases.
Correction for finite population
The formula given above for the standard error assumes that the sample size is much smaller than the population size, so that the population can be considered to be effectively infinite in size. This is usually the case even with finite populations, because most of the time, people are primarily interested in managing the processes that created the existing finite population; this is called an analytic study, following W. Edwards Deming. If people are interested in managing an existing finite population that will not change over time, then it is necessary to adjust for the population size; this is called an enumerative study.
When the sampling fraction is large (approximately at 5% or more) in an enumerative study, the estimate of the error must be corrected by multiplying by a "finite population correction"[7]
to account for the added precision gained by sampling close to a larger percentage of the population. The effect of the FPC is that the error becomes zero when the sample size n is equal to the population size N.
Correction for correlation in the sample
If values of the measured quantity A are not statistically independent but have been obtained from known locations in parameter space x, an unbiased estimate of the true standard error of the mean (actually a correction on the standard deviation part) may be obtained by multiplying the calculated standard error of the sample by the factor f:
where the sample bias coefficient ρ is the widely used Prais-Winsten estimate of the autocorrelation-coefficient (a quantity between −1 and +1) for all sample point pairs. This approximate formula is for moderate to large sample sizes; the reference gives the exact formulas for any sample size, and can be applied to heavily autocorrelated time series like Wall Street stock quotes. Moreover this formula works for positive and negative ρ alike.[8] See also unbiased estimation of standard deviation for more discussion.
Relative standard error
The relative standard error of a sample mean is simply the standard error divided by the mean and expressed as a percentage. The relative standard error only makes sense if the variable for which it is calculated cannot have a mean of zero.
As an example of the use of the relative standard error, consider two surveys of household income that both result in a sample mean of $50,000. If one survey has a standard error of $10,000 and the other has a standard error of $5,000, then the relative standard errors are 20% and 10% respectively. The survey with the lower relative standard error can be said to have a more precise measurement, since it has proportionately less sampling variation around the mean. In fact, data organizations often set reliability standards that their data must reach before publication. For example, the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics typically does not report an estimated mean if its relative standard error exceeds 30%. (NCHS also typically requires at least 30 observations – if not more – for an estimate to be reported.)[9]
See also
- Coefficient of variation
- Illustration of the central limit theorem
- Probable error
- Sample mean and sample covariance
- Variance
- ↑ Everitt, B.S. (2003) The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics, CUP. ISBN 0-521-81099-X
- ↑ Kenney, J. and Keeping, E.S. (1963) Mathematics of Statistics, van Nostrand, p. 187
- ↑ Zwillinger D. (1995), Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulae, Chapman&Hall/CRC. ISBN 0-8493-2479-3 p. 626
- ↑ T.P. Hutchinson, Essentials of statistical methods in 41 pages
- ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=journal }}
- ↑ Sokal and Rohlf (1981) Biometry: Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research , 2nd ed. ISBN 0-7167-1254-7 , p 53
- ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=journal }} (Equation 1)
- ↑ James R. Bence (1995) Analysis of short time series: Correcting for autocorrelation. Ecology 76(2): 628 – 639.
- ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=journal }}


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Wacky Packages have been around for more than 40 years now (the '73 reissue of the first series got me hooked as a first-grader), and plenty of the stickers were gearhead-centric. Now you can get 'em seven feet tall!
Yes, a bunch of freaks in Philly are making self-adhesive plastic reproductions of classic Wacky Packages, in sizes that range from "make your laptop look ridiculous" to "make your living room look ridiculous." You can read the press release or go right to the LTL site to learn more.
This is some good stuff, featuring artwork by such heavyweights as Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, and Art Spiegelman. Murilee says check it out!
[LTL Prints]


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by Richard Davies
Biggles has been fighting off bandits at 2 o'clock since 1932. He's legend of children's literature and one of the great adventure heroes. James Bigglesworth, created by W.E. Johns, starred in almost 100 novels beginning with The Camels are Coming. Johns died while writing Biggles Does Some Homework in 1968 but his hero continues to fascinate readers and collectors more than 40 years after his creator's death.
The fearless flyer began his literary life as a World War I fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, the precursor to the Royal Air Force. Johns wrote from firsthand experience as he flew fighter planes in the Great War and was shot down in 1918. After the conflict ended, he remained in the RAF until 1927.
Much like another British hero James Bond, Biggles was a survivor and time never dimmed his ability to fly to the rescue. Johns wrote about the young Biggles, his adventures in WWI, his career as a charter pilot, his WWII heroics, and then his post-war work in the special air police. Villains could shoot him down every now and again, but Biggles was impossible to kill.
Biggles has been translated into many languages and the series is adored by collectors with a love of adventure. It's common for a rare Biggles book to sell for a four-figure price.
Biggles Flies East
Biggles and the Black Peril
Biggles & Co.
Biggles Flies West (1937)
Biggles Flies South
Rather than have Biggles winning World War I aerial dogfights forever, Johns allowed his hero to move through the decades and turned him into an all-round adventurer. His best known companions were the upper class Algernon Lacey, aka his cousin Algy, and the working class Ginger Hebblethwaite. Biggles' sternest opponent was Germany's Erich von Stalhein. They clash in various scenarios over the years but eventually become friends after Biggles helps him escape from a communist prison in Biggles Buries a Hatchet.
Biggles Defies the Swastika
Biggles in the Orient (1944)
Biggles Delivers the Goods
Biggles' Second Case (1948)
Biggles Breaks the Silence
Biggles' popularity has waxed and waned over the years. The books have been criticized for clumsy racial stereotyping, old-fashioned attitudes and war-mongering, and been mercilessly parodied by comedians, including Monty Python. The criticism cannot be shrugged off, but Johns began the series in a world completely different to today and that should be considered when revisiting his books. His writing reflects a bygone age, using bygone language and featuring bygone technology - they are old school adventure stories. The World Wars – the two defining events of the 20th century – were the defining events in Biggles' life and adventure had been the major theme in fiction for boys long before Johns, who was born in 1893, started writing. Today, Biggles' first editions are highly collectible, particularly the early stories complete with dust jackets.
Biggles and the Black Raider
Biggles in the Blue (1953)
Biggles Cuts it Fine
Biggles Foreign Legionnaire
Biggles Presses On
Johns was a prolific writer. He also created the Worrals series of novels about Joan Worralson, a female aviator, the Gimlet books about Captain Lorrington 'Gimlet' King, a soldier-adventurer, and a set of astronaut books about Timothy 'Tiger' Clinton. Nicknames were clearly a major part of the Johns' creative process. By Jove, Biggles: The Life of Captain W.E. Johns by Peter Berresford Ellis & Piers Williams is a recommended biography of this author.
Biggles Sets a Trap
Biggles Investigates
1. Biggles Flies Again (1934)
2. Biggles of the Camel Squadron
3. Biggles Learns to Fly (1935)
4. Biggles Flies North (1939)
5. Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter (1954)
6. Biggles Hits the Trail (1941)
7. Biggles Goes to War (1938)
8. Biggles in the Cruise of the Condor (1933)
9. Biggles in the South Seas (1940)
10. Biggles Works it Out (1951)


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The Pike Pirates mounted a furious comeback from a 31-8 deficit but fell short as they lost 31-22 to Carver of Columbus here Friday night.
Carver's head coach short circuited as the clock wound down and exhibited poor sportsmanship, according to onlookers. The officiating was roundly criticized.
Pirates' comeback falls short
No Trackbacks


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I've said elsewhere that this was probably the last election where the Republicans stood a real chance of gaining the American Presidency with a program that mainly appeals to prosperous suburban whites and holds little appeal to most women and almost no appeal at all to racial minorities.
If the GOP is to survive, what do you think it would have to look like? What could it possibly look like?
Views: 2058
Clearly there is no biblical term for "the Middle-East," because when you're actually IN the Middle-East, then for you, the Middle-East would exist somewhere east of you.
Much as there is no East or West of the North Pole, only South.
But there are geographical locations in the Middle-East that are named. Why would you consider yourself in the "Middle-East," when you believe you live in the center of the Universe?
Sadly, theists might be considered at that moment, representatives of the anti-christ. The survivors might hunt them down and ....
That alternative future has not yet been televised or actualized. Great care must be taken with 'what you wish for'....;p(
As i said the wars had nothing to do with WMD's and they all knew that. The real reason for the wars was access to cheap oil. We are about to or even more likely have already reached peak oil.
i say already have since 2005 the production of crude oil has hovered around 73-75 million barrels despite record prices( 10 dollars a barrel in 1998. 100 dollars a barrel in 2012 even despite a worldwide recession) and ever increasing demand oil production) This is something you can bet your ass bush knew as hes energy adviser (Mathew Simmons) was a major peak oil advocate.
Now i say what bush and cohorts did was understandable as our countries are addicted to oil and once productions starts on the downward curve after it peaks the ramifications are going to be severe for us. the world leaders have realized oil has or is just about to peak which led upto the 140 dollars a barrel which caused the 2008 recession. currently our economies are being kept artificially afloat by the bank bailouts, massive lending from the fed reserve and lowered interest rates but this cant go on for much longer as supply is going to start dwindling while demand keeps increasing. the US military predicts that in 2015 demand will outstrip supply by around 10 million barrels a day. When that happens 2008's recession will seem like a day at the park in comparison.
Now Americas only real survival plan is to have access to all the oil it can when this happens to buy it some time ,which means it needs a foothold in the middle east( Russia is out of the question as it has enough chemical weapons and nukes to leave America as an irradiated sludge pit)
Now before you think i am just a conspiracy crackpot i want you to read some things.
a 2005 report commissioned by the American government on the implications of peak oil hirsch report
a 2010 report by the US military on peak oil ( you can skip to the part on energy and oil if you want) military report
a 2010 report from the German military with in depth implications on the likely consequences from peak oil( this report is interesting as it was leaked to the public before it went through the PR branch) report
The uk also had commissioned a study but has refused to reveal it to the public
I also want to add that you cant really blame bush for this. The real problem behind this is capitalism and democracy in conjunction with us, the general public.
Capitalism is to blame as it is extremely short sighted. Its only focus is to make as much money as quickly as possible while, as the Hirsch report says, to mitigate most of the problems from peak oil it would require atleast a 20 year ramp up period with a vast capital expenditure.And 20 years ago there would have been zero chance you could find investors willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money to start preparing for something that far in the future while there was so much easy money to be made elsewhere. There is also the fact that capitalism requires continues exponential growth to function which is just plain stupid in the long term. It is a simple mathematical fact that you cant have continues exponential growth in a finite system. here is actually a very good video that explains exactly what exponential growth means as humans are inherently very bad at understanding it.video
Democracy is to blame as our leaders are elected by the the general public,which is not very bright. If a president had made peak oil harm reduction a major campaign point where he promised to spend exorbitant prices to counter a problem that may only happen in two decades there would have been no chance of him being elected as people vote for the person who tells them what they want to hear. This would have been comparable to a president two decades ago basing hes campaign largely on global warming reduction. as the german military report says
"Gaining an illustrative picture of a subject is very much a matter of habit. When
considering the consequences of peak oil, no everyday experiences and only few historical
parallels are at hand. It is therefore difficult to imagine how significant the effects of being
gradually deprived of one of our civilization's most important energy sources will be.
Psychological barriers cause indisputable facts to be blanked out and lead to almost
instinctively refusing to look into this difficult subject in detail."
A wonder moment for FREE SPEECH!
An almost mic check!
Behind-the-scenes stories from election
Mitt Romney paid $25,000 for victory fireworks and was "shellshocked" by Obama's win.
Yeah, well, New Year's is right around the corner --
("But...but...Karl Rove SAID --!")
And Karl Rove looks like a 'has been', but not on paper! His apparent ability to keep talking without achknowleging the other person in the room, means to me that he is afraid to stop talking else someone else will give him a dope slap!
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia congressman who attacked the theory of evolution found himself with an unlikely opponent in Tuesday's U.S. election, when 4,000 voters in one county cast write-in ballots for the 19th century father of evolution, British naturalist Charles Darwin.


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Living with lupus: Maria's story
]]>Back to Lupus Center]]>
Maria was diagnosed with lupus twenty-five years ago. While life with lupus has not been easy, the now 43 year-old New Jersey widow works full time as Resident Director of an assisted living facility's Alzheimer's unit and is raising three children.
Twenty four years ago, not long after leaving home for my freshman year of college, I began experiencing a laundry list of baffling symptoms. Every week something was wrong; joint pain, rash, headache, weight loss - my parents thought I was a hypochondriac. When I came home on break, I was still sick. Then one morning I awoke to find I couldn't move; my whole body was stiff. My doctor admitted me to the hospital, thinking I had poly-arthritis, but several days and numerous tests later, I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), most commonly referred to simply as lupus. When my doctor told me I had lupus, I told him, "Okay, fix it." He told me it could be controlled, but not cured. The worst blow came, though, when I asked whether I might die and the doctor told me that, yes, it was possible.
I was very lucky to have a doctor who knew to look for something unusual and who knew it was something he couldn't handle. Back then much less was known about lupus than is known today. My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist, Dr. Thomas Kantor, who admitted me to NYU hospital where I spent the next several weeks undergoing tests including kidney biopsies and bone scans. Treatment followed. I was given massive doses of prednisone, a steroid, and Imuran which, at the time, was experimental, but without which I wasn't expected to last more than six months. I lost a tremendous amount of weight and the prednisone caused my face to puff up.
Once I was home again, the medication began taking a toll on my body. My hair fell out and my body blew up like a balloon. My dosage included twelve pills in the morning and additional ones throughout the day. To reduce the side effects of my medication I had to take even more medications. Finally, when I was 20, my lupus went into remission. I went back to college and, although I wasn't completely off the medication for about a year and still required close monitoring, I began to feel whole again. Eventually my mother and I opened a dress shop and I fell in love and got married.
When I was twenty-eight and a newlywed of six months, my husband Ralph and I went out to celebrate on New Year's Eve. At the restaurant, I noticed my feet were swollen. My remission had ended. I had lupus nephritis - my kidneys were involved. Another, briefer, hospital stay was followed by weekly doctor appointments and tons of pills. Finally, after a year, my doctor began to again wean me off my medications. Although many doctors discourage women with lupus from becoming pregnant, Dr. Kantor, seeing how badly I wanted children, encouraged me to go ahead. My husband and parents were concerned that the stress of pregnancy would result in another lupus flare, but my pregnancy resulted, joyfully, in the births of full-term twin girls. Three years later, my husband and I welcomed our son into the family. I always felt the pregnancies would be okay. Others were afraid my pregnancies would be difficult, but they were wonderful. The births of my children were my happiest moments.
Sadly, my husband died of a ruptured brain aneurysm in January 1998, leaving me to raise our children, then 11 and 8. When Ralph died, the doctor upped my medications for several months to ward off a potential stress-induced flare and checked me monthly for nearly a year. I now see him every three months. Since my diagnosis, I've enjoyed tremendous support from my family. I've decided that, while I may have lupus, it doesn't have me. My parents and family have been with me every step of the way; they've been my greatest source of support. My dad was in the medical field so my parents gathered all the information available at the time of my diagnosis. I firmly believe that being well-informed and maintaining a positive attitude helps. My doctors have always involved me in pretty much every decision. Never once, even when I was younger, did I not know everything that was going on every step of the way. I'm the type that needs to know everything. It makes me feel more in control.
Choose your doctors and your care. Become knowledgeable about the disease and your medications. Learn your family history. It's your body - you're in control. I haven't felt the need to look into alternative therapies - things are going pretty well - but I might if the lupus becomes truly horrible. I live daily with the side effects of my medications including painful bursitis. I'm getting a lot of dental work done because one of my medications has caused bone loss in my jaw. I have stomach problems and I know the time isn't far off when both of my hips will have to be replaced because of damage caused by prolonged steroid use. With the exception of a few small flares with no kidney involvement, I have been in remission since I was thirty. Now, at age forty-two, I work full-time in marketing for an assisted living facility. I helped run a lupus support group at the facility where I work, and attend school programs and my children's sporting events. I have had to make adjustments. Once an avid sun worshipper, I no longer go to the beach because I can't be out in the sun. I am learning to relax although I find it difficult, and to get plenty of sleep. I exercise regularly, but I know my limits.
My lupus sometimes affects my kids because there are things I can't do. All-day trips, for example, are too wearying. I can't take them to the beach. But I've found there's always something else to fill the space left by the things you can no longer do. I do wish I had known, when I was diagnosed, that there is so much hope for people with this disease; that you can lead a normal life. I wish I had known more about the disease and its symptoms. The educational materials available from the Lupus Foundation are very good. There's so much more information out there now than there was when I was diagnosed. I have a favorite quote hanging on my refrigerator. It says something like "God never promised that life would be easy, just that He would be there walking with us along the peaks and through the valleys". When I was first discharged from the hospital after being diagnosed with lupus I felt awful and my prognosis was uncertain. I was in a valley. My father picked me up to take me home, and he asked me then what I most wanted to do. I told him I wanted to go to the jewelry store and buy a bracelet to replace my hospital bracelet. He was somewhat apprehensive because I could hardly walk and parking on New York City's Canal Street was difficult. So we made a deal. We wouldn't shop unless we could get a parking space in front of the store. God was with me. We found a space right outside the door. There have been a lot of peaks and valleys since then, but that bracelet is still on my wrist - a reminder of my journey and all those who have traveled it with me.


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Tony's Canvas and Leather Wins Manufacturer of the Year from SBDCMonday, May 23rd, 2011
If you rip it, Tony O'Geen can stitch it.
O'Geen, owner of Tony's Canvas and Leather in Massena, has been selected by the New York State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year after working with the SBDC office at SUNY Canton. He will receive his award at a recognition dinner on May 24 as part of the SBDC's Annual Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid.
The 1984 SUNY Canton graduate started Tony's Canvas and Leather from his home in 2001 after realizing the demand for local sports equipment repair services. He traveled to Montreal, Canada, to learn the art of re-palming hockey gloves from Eagle Hockey and began posting flyers in the local hockey arenas and sports facilities. His grass roots efforts paid off and he quickly expanded his offerings to manufacturing and repair of all variety of sports bags and equipment. He soon began repairing hockey equipment for local colleges, including SUNY Canton.
"Tony represents the idea of a true American entrepreneur," Dale Rice, SUNY Canton SBDC director said. "He saw a need in the market and found a way to fulfill it, beginning as a part-time, home-based business and growing gradually to become a force in the global marketplace."
O'Geen began working with the SBDC in 2008 on a variety of business development initiatives. Over time, he amassed an impressive menu of services worthy of his slogan, "You Rip It, I'll Stitch It."
He gradually expanded to work on leather saddlebags, boat and trailer covers, tack repair and shoe repair. He also began creating custom printed and embroidered apparel, fire bags, hunting bags, signs and banners.
Several years ago O'Geen worked with the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative to develop his website, www.tonyscanvas.com. It immediately gave him access to a global market and in recent years he has attracted customers from as far away as Australia.His success is even more notable considering that up until this year the business was a part-time venture in addition to his full-time employment as a New York State Corrections Officer.
Upon retirement earlier this year, Tony set out to further expand his company by seeking grant and loan funding through the St. Lawrence County IDA. The funds allowed him to purchase new equipment that will greatly expand his printing logos and sign services.
Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.


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Dr. Michelle McManus
Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
- Phone
- Send email
- Website
- www.mcmanusortho.com
- Address
- 4507 24th St Rock Island, IL 61201-5308
Please contact the dental practice directly to learn more about treatment, payment and dental benefits, or to schedule an appointment.
- Payment options
- Accepts in-network insurance, Out-of-network, files claim, CareCredit, Financing, Credit/Debit Card, Cash/Check
- Insurance
- Willamette Dental Insurance, Inc., Western Dental Services, Inc, UPMC Health Plan, Universal Dental Plan, UnitedHealthcare Dental, TruAssure Insurance Company, Trojan Professional Services Inc, Triple-S Salud, Inc., The CDI Group, Inc., Superior Dental Care, Inc, Sun Life Financial, Starmount Life Insurance Company, Standard Insurance Company, Southland National Insurance Corporation, Solstice Benefits, SelectHealth, Renaissance Life & Health Ins. Company, QCA Health Plan/QualChoice (AHIP), Premera Blue Cross, Physicians Mutual Insurance Company, PDS Innovations, Pan American Life, Pacific Source Health Plans, Northeast Delta Dental, Nippon Life Insurance Company of America, Nevada Dental Benefits, National Guardian Life Insurance Company, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company (AHIP), Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, Medical Card System, Lincoln Financial Group, Lifemap Assurance, LIBERTY Dental Plan, Kansas City Life Insurance Co., Kaiser Permanente Dental Care Program, IHC Health Solutions, Humana Insurance Company, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, HealthPartners, Inc, HealthNet of CA, Health Resources, Inc., Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Group Health Cooperative, GEHA, Fox Valley Laborers Health and Welfare Fund, First Continental Life, Envolve Dental Inc. (formerly Dental Health & Wellness (DHW)/Centene), EMI Health, EmblemHealth Services, Dominion National, District Council 37 Health and Security Plan, Dental Select, Dental Network of America, Inc., Dental Health Services of America, Dental Care Plus Group, DENCAP Dental Plans, Delta Dental , Dedicated Dental / Interdent, Cypress Dental Administrators, Comprehensive Healthcare Options.com, Inc., Companion Life Insurance Company, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, Children's Medical Center Health Plan, CBA Inc., Careington International, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Care Plus/Dental Associates, Cambia Health Services (AHIP), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Best Life and Health Insurance Company, Argus Dental and Vision, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (AFLAC), American Enterprise Group, Inc., American Dental Professional Services, Altus Dental Insurance Company, Aetna Dental, Advantage Dental Plan, Inc., 1199 SEIU National Benefit Fund, Principal, Guardian, United Concordia Companies, Inc., United Healthcare, Humana, Cigna, Dentaquest, MetLife
- Gender
- Female
- Specialties
- Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
- Education
- University of IowaIA-University of Iowa College of Dentistry
- Practice description
- McManus Orthodontics provides orthodontic treatment for people of all ages. We are located in Rock Island, IL and serve the Quad Cities and surrounding areas.


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Zoo Paves Path On Polar Bear Reproduction
Scientists Perform Artificial Insemination Of First Captive Polar Bears
Scientists at the Cincinnati Zoo have made a breakthrough in animal research by performing the first artificial insemination of captive polar bears.
"There's not a lot known about polar bear reproduction, so it's exciting to be in the forefront of this," said Dr. Erin Curry, post-doctoral fellow at Cincinnati Zoo.
Researchers at the zoo's crew center are paving the path in the reproduction of polar bears. In 2008, the team set out to monitor reproductive hormones in the bears.
"Over the course of a couple of years, we realized the reproductive rate in polar bears is really low, and it's a concern for us," said Dr. Terri Roth, director of Crew at Cincinnati Zoo.
Scientists said the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y., volunteered their bears for the first ever artificial insemination.
On March 1, a team of Cincinnati scientists traveled to Rochester to perform the procedure.
"If she doesn't have cubs, she doesn't have cubs. But we hope she does," Curry said. "The next step is to hopefully develop a pregnancy test for polar bears, which is what I'm working on right now."
Scientist didn't use the polar bears in Cincinnati because they're already mating naturally.
Scientists said the step is just the beginning of groundbreaking research in polar bear reproduction.
"(It's) a big, big challenge. And sometimes, at Crew, we take on big challenges. They can prove interesting. This one seemed to work out really well, considering all the unknowns," Roth said.


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Ian McEwan is one of my favourite authors. He is in a special category for me. His books take time to read because I want to savour, not devour. 'Atonement' and 'On Chesil Beach' were good and I especially appreciated 'Saturday'. 'Solar' is a bit different; still well written but not as eloquent. Even though Solar is fiction, it has a lot to say about how we view climate change as a planet. We do need to consider alternatives, especially after the incredible nuclear tragedy in Japan. One of the things I find hard to understand about Japan, is how they could build so many nuclear plants after Hiroshima? Wouldn't they be the people most motivated to avoid this source of energy? Indeed, just today I noticed a report in the news about anti-nuclear protestors there. Perhaps there are no viable alternatives yet, but then it begs these questions: When we are as clever about other forms of technology, why do we continue to destroy the earth and are unable to devise cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy ? Why do we let politics hamper the quest, and why are we unwilling to alter our lifestyles enough to reduce the incredible energy demand? Climate change is complicated and evokes reactions ranging from strong emotions to complete apathy.
'Solar' is a brilliant comic novel about a selfish, short, fat, philandering climate change scientist named Michael Beard who doesn't do much besides coasting on a Nobel prize he won years ago. Like our treatment of the planet, he tends to ignore his own health, postpones dealing with a melanoma, and is addictive and over consumptive. Will Beard's scientific brilliance win out before his pathological self-destructiveness catches up? So with the species.
McEwan likes science and is knowledgeable about it. This is something that becomes evident in this book and in his novel 'Saturday' which is about a neurosurgeon. So if you don't like science, some of it may seem boring. But hang in there because there also parts which are side-splittingly funny. Global warming is no laughing matter and the humour carries a dark side. At the heart of the book are sober themes which we cannot ignore.


text: CrispTalks provides affordable animated videos to startups. We are currently looking for people with strong communication & written skills to execute video designing projects. The role includes writing scripts for animated videos after understanding client's requirements & ensuring timely delivery of videos by coordinating with other team members. This is a remote position.


text: Cassandra Brooks has a good life, living with her fellow medical student boyfriend, studying hard and playing hard. One morning she goes out to buy breakfast and is hit by a car, becoming a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. This is the story of how she copes and eventually re-fashions a life. One that is very different to the one she had hoped for. Whilst the story is a little sugar coated and 'white bread' , it is not sentimental and it does cover the depression and frustration of young healthy people suddenly stopped by an instant's misfortune and now having to cope not only with a whole new world of medical necessities to get through ordinary daily living tasks but also access difficulties and discrimination when out in the world. The novel showcases the marvelous work of two UK charities, Canine Partners, which helps disabled people enjoy a better quality of life by providing specially trained assistance dogs and the Back Up Trust, which provides adventure opportunities for disabled people. Cass is lucky to have a supportive family with the means to help her and when she is partnered with Ticket, the golden Labrador, her life with him by her side does get a little easier. Finding love with Ticket and finding a measure of acceptance and courage, Cass gets on with life. The message in this book is very well integrated into the story and Cass and her surrounding circles of family, pre-accident friends and post-accident rehab buddies, are well drawn. The author has done her research and married it with empathy and compassion. Many years ago, my brother became a paraplegic as a young man and faced similar trials to Cass. I shed tears over this book, some for Cass and her family and some in memory of my brother and for my family.


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- Home
- CVEs with nessus.description==Updated 389-ds-base packages that fix one security issue are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having Important security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in the References section. The 389 Directory Server is an LDAPv3 compliant server. The base packages include the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server and command-line utilities for server administration. It was discovered that the 389 Directory Server did not properly handle certain SASL-based authentication mechanisms. A user able to authenticate to the directory using these SASL mechanisms could connect as any other directory user, including the administrative Directory Manager account. This could allow them to modify configuration values, as well as read and write any data the directory holds. (CVE-2014-0132) All 389-ds-base users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue. After installing this update, the 389 server service will be restarted automatically
|Max CVSS
|Min CVSS
|Total Count
|Last (major) update


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Luxury International Travel Regions
At Alpha Flight Guru, we are all about luxury travel for less. No matter where your international travel takes you, we recommend you do it in style! Check out our listed top international regions to find all things involving travel to choice regions around the globe.


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Yet another outstanding effort from a Cubs starting pitcher ends up in a Cubs loss, as it has so often in 2013. It was Jeff Samardzija's turn to get screwed over as he was dominant all night only to see his record get worse as the Cubs couldn't push a single run across the plate. Sure, Francisco Liriano was solid, but the vaunted "righty lineup" did what it usually does, come up empty, often. The turning point in this one took place in the third inning when the Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out with the top of the order coming up. The Cubs couldn't score in that situation, it wasn't the first time this year, and it won't be the last, and a team that can't score in that situation doesn't deserve to win the game. It wouldn't be a Cubs loss without another fake rally in the ninth inning and that's exactly what happened as the Cubs had runners on first and second with only one out and came away empty-handed yet again. If it's not the bullpen blowing a game, it's the offense not helping out a starter after he has done way more than enough to win, these losses are really starting to get on everyone's nerves.
At The Plate – The Cubs could only manage four hits in the loss, they walked only once, and struck out eleven times. Here are a couple more depressing stats, they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight guys on base. Julio Borbon, and Cody Ransom each had a hit in the loss while Welington Castillo had two singles.
On The Mound – Jeff Samardzija did everything he could to get the win tonight, I guess he was supposed to hit a home run as well, unfortunately he didn't. Shark worked seven innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out eight. The loss drops his record to 2-6 on the season as he lowered his ERA to 3.25 for the year, amazing. Carlos Villanueva was available tonight, guess he wasn't available twenty-four hours ago, he worked a scoreless inning while walking one.
Up Next – Game three of the series, hopefully the Cubs can find a way to salvage one game of this series. Edwin Jackson gets the start for the Cubs, he will be opposed by Jeanmar Gomez at 11:35 AM CST tomorrow morning.
Game Highlights:
Check back later, MLB.com has no Cubs highlights yet, oh right, they probably won't.


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Listings in Local Delivery, Studio Florists and Floral Workshops & Classes near Bow and Woodinville
Flori, LLC
in Local Delivery, Studio Florists, Weddings & Events, Floral Workshops & Classes
Seattle area florist and gardener who uses chemical free flowers whenever possible to create lush, custom florals for you. Aim is to have a just picked from the garden feel with every arrangement. Supports use of local pottery and flowers.
P.O. Box 141
Woodinville, Washington 98072
United States
Review this
Verbena Floral Seattle
in Studio Florists, Weddings & Events
6103 Maltby Road
Woodinville, Washington 98072
United States
HB Farm
in Flower Farmers, Local Delivery, Weddings & Events, Wholesalers of American-grown Flowers, Floral Workshops & Classes, Floral Greens
15903 Bow Hill Rd
Bow, Washington 98232
United States


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Cadets from the Bluffton High School JROTC recently participated in the U.S. Marine Corps Ultimate Challenge Mud Run in Florence.
The Bluffton High School team contained both young men and young women cadets and won first place out of the 47 JROTC teams competing. They also placed 11th overall out of 2,013 teams competing nation-wide. The later group included Marines as well as JROTC units.
Nearly 10,000 individuals entered the five-mile Mud Run, which had 32 obstacles designed by Marine drill instructors. The competition earned its name from the 100-yard-long mud pit on the obstacle course.


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Mix It Up: Smoke & Mirrors at Huckleberry Bar
Walking through the doors at Huckleberry Bar transports you from a fairly nondescript block in Williamsburg to a stylish yet comfortable cocktail den—more like something you'd expect to find in Carroll Gardens or the East Village. It's a beverage haven for those in the neighborhood seeking something more upscale than other local joints, but without the insanely pricey Manhattan cocktail bar tabs.
Stephanie Schneider and Andrew Boggs, both alums of Danny Meyer restaurants, bring their hospitality expertise to Huckleberry, creating a welcoming spot that, although it takes its cocktails seriously, doesn't hesitate to add a dash of fun to the mix. Huckleberry offers Tuesday night punch parties, Monday night movies (August is John Cusack month), DJ's, and True Blood viewing on Sundays—paired with a light food menu of snacks, charcuterie, cheese, sandwiches, and salads.
The cocktail menu contains classics as well as originals, and takes advantage of slightly lesser known spirits Chartreuse, Genever and Mezcal, as well as homemade infusions and syrups. They've added three new cocktails to the list this week, and it changes slightly with the availability of ingredients -- the night we were there, rhubarb was replaced with tarragon in one of the menu's offerings. The Smoke & Mirrors is their unique take on the classic Blood & Sand, with the smoke coming from a touch of mezcal.
Smoke & Mirrors
Recipe by Krystal Lemon
1 ounce Bols Genever 1/4 ounce Sombra mezcal 1/4 ounce Luxardo cherry liqueur 1 ounce fresh squeezed grapefruit juice 1/2 ounce Dolin sweet vermouth
Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Huckleberry Bar
588 Grand Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (map)
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Ferrying his neighbors across turbulent creek
The beachfront in Fairfield was one of the hardest hit spots in the region.
Fairfield Beach Road is the heavily built spine of the west-pointing peninsula that faces Long Island Sound on the south and Pine Creek on the north. Over the decades, the area has changed from a neighborhood of low-slung, unwinterized summer cottages, to a permanent community of multimillion dollar homes.
It was this neighborhood that took a pounding. Some homes were obliterated; some went relatively unscathed.
Michael O'Donnell, who owns a marine electrical company, lives on Old Dam Road, on the other side of the creek, next to a dike that would protect him from its waters.
He spent hours during the storm ferrying people back and forth across the creek, a turbulent 75-foot route through the flotsam. They were property owners anxious to learn the status of their homes. Did they, for instance, still have one. Departure and pickup arrangements were made by cell phone. And O'Donnell's little run about was ready to go.
Why did he do it? In a brief email, this is what he said:
"Because somebody asked me to. Then, somebody else asked. I felt for them. I couldn't say no. They just kept coming. I live behind a dike. The ground floor of my home is at 9.8 feet. The dike is, as we now know, thirteen and a quarter.
"Two more inches of water and it would have flooded in. I would have lost everything.
"As the water rose near the top, I was carrying our most precious things to the second floor, my grandmother's kitchen table, my great grandmother's linens, the portrait of my nieces that my sister painted... I was very close to losing everything.
"Many of them did. I guess I was very sensitive to their plight."


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CREW TV brings you closer to the industry's
most influential leaders and thinkers. Click on the videos below to watch the interviews:
In this episode, CREW TV explores the questions landlords should and should not ask prospective tenants in order to keep on the right side of the law. That's not as easy as you may think, according to experts.
CREW's Jemima Codrington interviews Ron Tenbrinke of Sky High Property Management and real estate lawyer and author Mark Weisleder.
Video transcript below:
Jemima Codrington: You've come into property investing, you've seen a [purchase due to close in] and now it's time to conquer – tenant screening. Hi, I'm Jemima Codrington and welcome to Investor Insight on Crew TV.
If you are not careful, the vetting process will conquer you. Apartment hunters often find their way around the interview process. Investors/Landlords need to learn and knowing whom to ask is a good place to start.
Ron Tenbrinke – Sky High Property Management
Ron Tenbrinke: For new investors I would suggest even though you have heard these things before, number one would be do a credit check, the cost is minimal to the cost that would happen if you get a bad tenant. The other thing I would suggest is never ever contact their existing landlord, contact previous landlords because the existing landlord likely wants to get rid of them.
Jemima Codrington: But remember the law dictates what you can and cannot ask a prospective tenant. Stay on the right side of it and still get the info that you need.
Mark Weisleder – Real Estate Lawyer
Mark Weisleder: The language you use asking questions is incredibly important. My favourite question to ask a tenant is, tell me about yourself. It's very open ended and a tenant will tell you perhaps a lot than you need to know, in order to make your decision and while you can't ask a tenant a question like, do you plan on having any more children, you are allowed to ask, how many people will be living in the unit and what are their names.
Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Devin P. McComb has joined the firm's Seattle office as a partner in the Real Estate & Land Use practice
Grimsby skyline to be reshaped by tallest buildings in city: two-tower residential complex
Connect Asset Management Challenges the Financial Community to Invest in Downtown Toronto Real Estate for a Good Cause


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Precision Amplifiers and Calibration Instruments
When highest precision of test results counts, measuring amplifiers and electronics from HBM are the first choice throughout the world.
When highest precision of test results counts, measuring amplifiers and electronics from HBM are the first choice throughout the world.
Not only are users in the fields of industry, research and universities convinced by the qualities of HBM's high-precision data acquisition instruments, but many National Metrological Organizations, too, have employed, for example, the DMP41 precision measuring amplifier as a reliable reference instrument.
The key factor to ensure minimal measurement uncertainty is the choice of measurement principle. The demand for more precise transducers and amplifiers has grown as a consequence of strain gauge technology becoming increasingly widespread over the past decades. Today, whenever low measurement uncertainty is required, transducers based on strain gauges (SG) using the Wheatstone bridge circuit have a clear advantage. HBM has pushed the physical limits of the technical possibilities provided by this technology.
When measurement results of highest precision are required, HBM offers both sensors and amplifiers as well as precision measuring instruments providing very low measurement uncertainty to allow measuring chains with an extremely high overall accuracy to be implemented; these are also called reference measuring chains.
Force transducers, torque transducers and pressure transducers are also available as so-called reference transducers with a particularly small contribution of the measurement uncertainty.
Measurements are becoming ever more accurate, instruments increasingly precise. Metrology as a branch of science focuses on measurement - reproducibility of measurement results throughout the world is key in this context. Hence it is essential in metrology to guarantee traceability from any calibration level to the primary standard. The primary standard is ensured by the national metrology institute and is the standard with the smallest measurement uncertainty in the respective country.
These traceability "chains" for ensuring the reproducibility of measurements in practice are based on reference measurement chains implemented with HBM transducers and highest-precision measuring instruments. Over 100 metrology institutes throughout the world use HBM highest-precision test and measurement equipment.
Users benefit from the fact that strain gauge technology enables measurement chains with an extremely small measurement uncertainty to be implemented which, at the same time, have excellent long-term stability.
When producing transducers and sensors, it is often beneficial to permanently integrate all devices into the production process. HBM's DMP41 highest-precision measuring instrument satisfies this requirement: DMP41 has been designed for installation in control cabinets and allows convenient use in environments with demanding EMC conditions such as those encountered in production.
Regardless of the product type involved - be it force transducers, torque transducers or pressure transducers (force sensors, torque sensors, pressure sensors) or load cells - HBM relies on DMP41 when it comes to offering sensors with maximum measurement accuracy. Manufacturers can use DMP41 to calibrate their customers' sensors and, if necessary, re-calibrate them.
The key advantage is that two or six measurement channels can be made available, thus enabling sensors with a much smaller measurement uncertainty than usual to be tested and, in addition, produced at the same time.
Measurement errors can prove fatal in some branches of industry. For example in aviation: When measuring altitude of an aircraft, the slightest deviation could potentially endanger human life. For this reason, a small measurement uncertainty is indispensable for such critical applications. It is guaranteed by comparison measurements. Here highest-precision measuring instruments from HBM are particularly well suited and have been used in comparison measurements, on a national and international level, for decades.
Interlaboratory comparisons compare and analyze the results provided by several measurement chains. Here users benefit from the extremely small measurement uncertainty and excellent long-term stability made possible by strain gauge technology.


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From the author of The Nightingale, comes a spellbinding novel set in Alaska, inspired by the author's own experiences.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents' passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights' lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
A compulsively readable, powerful novel of survival, love, beauty, brokenness, and redemption. The pace of this novel is unrelenting, with multiple twists and turns, and much of the time you feel you can cut the tension with a knife. The harshly unforgiving yet breathtaking beauty of Alaska are cinematic, and the exploration of human frailty and resilience are riveting. I'd be surprised if this isn't made into a movie.


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JOHANNESBURG – There's really no way to put this delicately without sounding like a jerk, but here goes.
If you had told me a year ago that Robbie Findley, Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez would be on the US' World Cup squad, I would have told you to leave me alone and let me get back to the NBA Finals.
Yet that's exactly where we are. All three strikers have made the most miraculous of career turnarounds to the point where they haven't just made the squad, they're key pieces of the puzzle. And the US may need contributions from all three to get past Slovenia on Friday.
Findley? He was a one-dimensional player who had speed to burn. But he wasn't a good enough finisher to stick with the national team and he didn't do enough off the ball to add any value.
Buddle? Sure, he was talented and scored some nice goals. But he never really lived up to his potential and ran too hot and cold while jumping from team to team during a 10-year Major League Soccer career.
Gomez? Seriously? Herculez Gomez? The guy who supposedly wasn't even good enough to stick in MLS after being run out of Kansas City last fall?
Funny how things change. Yes, injuries to Charlie Davies and Brian Ching over the past several months had clouded the picture up top for Bob Bradley. And there's been plenty of time for him to tinker around and try out some different faces – let's not forget, it wasn't all that long ago that Conor Casey and Jeff Cunningham were in consideration.
But Findley, Buddle and Gomez got the nod against all odds. What's most remarkable is that each player didn't just reestablish himself in the past year – each did it in the past three months.
Of all three, Findley at least had been on Bradley's radar. He was called into camp last August, but didn't appear in qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago. The criticism remained: He scored goals by the bucket load for Real Salt Lake, but couldn't translate that to the international level.
What changed? According to some of his teammates, Findley's game has evolved behind the scenes a lot more than any of us realized. That transformation has been so complete that Findley isn't just a role player off the bench; he earned a starting nod against England last weekend.
"I think he's learned how to use his speed," said US midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who knows Findley from their college days when Findley's Oregon State would take on Feilhaber's UCLA. "Even if he's not on the ball, he's making runs. It opens things up for other players because defenders always have got to keep their eyes on Robbie. He makes it easy for the rest of the team to play with that."
Buddle, meanwhile, got his only US cap seven years ago and hadn't had a sniff of the national team since. But the 29-year-old forced his way back into the picture with one of the most torrid starts in MLS history: nine goals in six games that helped the LA Galaxy storm out of the gates.
And as Landon Donovan has reminded us time and again, it wasn't just the quantity of the goals, it was the quality. Buddle was scoring with his head and with his feet, with cunning, skill and pure strength. Off the ball, he was drawing defenders, holding the ball up and banging around in the box.
That was enough to earn Buddle a trip to South Africa. And despite some early jitters, he's been embraced by the team and looks to translate his hot streak to the World Cup. So far, so good. In the warm-up against Australia, he scored twice and entered the England game as a late sub.
"He wasn't overawed by the experience," Donovan said. "He made a few decent plays that helped us out, and I think he's going to get better the more he gets to play."
But perhaps no one has surprised as much as Gomez. The Las Vegas native already had his cup of coffee with the national team, way back at the 2007 Copa América. After earning three caps in Venezuela, Herc disappeared from the picture while his MLS career stalled out. Ironic that he had to go to Mexico to prove himself again to Bradley.
What Gomez did last season with Puebla was nothing short of remarkable. His 10 goals tied him for the scoring title, the first American ever to lead a foreign league in goals. But what was more amazing was his ability to change a game: six of those goals earned Puebla a win or a draw.
That timeliness made him a surprise late pick by Bradley to the 30-man provisional squad. And Gomez made the most of his chance, scoring a goal off the bench to even it up in last month's friendly loss to the Czech Republic and booking himself a trip to South Africa.
"It's crazy," Gomez admitted, "especially where I was six months ago. It's been an amazing journey. It really has been nothing short of a miracle."
Let's get serious now. The feel-good stories make for fun copy, but that's not why Bradley brought this trio to South Africa. They're here to make a difference with their strengths and to help the US in one way: get some goals.
The fact remains that Clint Dempsey is now the only American to have scored in the past two World Cups. Now, the US need goals in a hurry. Slovenia becomes a crucial game, especially after the Green Dragons took care of Algeria in their opener. As the Americans keep reminding us, if they lose this game, they're out.
Someone needs to step up. Regardless of whether Findley or Buddle start, or if Gomez gets his first World Cup minutes, the goals have to come from somewhere.
For my money? Why not one of them? I knew they'd be in this position all along. Didn't you?
MLSsoccer.com managing editor Jonah Freedman is covering the World Cup from South Africa. His "Throw-In" column appears every Thursday.


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Like many people, I was very concerned about Java's fate when Oracle acquired Sun two years ago. Even though the Redwood Shores-based giant had previously invested heavily in Java via its purchase of BEA Systems the leading Java server vendor at the time the future direction of the language under its new masters was far from clear. Scenarios ranged from Oracle turning the language and JDK into a proprietary thing that hewed exclusively to corporate dictates, to benign scenarios in which the company would leave things more or less as they were with a Sun-equivalent investment in advancing the platform.
Either way, things did not start out well. James Gosling, the putative father of Java, left the company rather vocally, assailing its treatment of Java and open-source communities. His concerns were realized almost immediately by Oracle's ham-fisted handling of the Open Solaris and Hudson projects. (The former died after numerous attempts to get direction from Oracle; the latter broke off and successfully relaunched the continuous integration server under the Jenkins handle.) At the same time, Oracle sued Google for its use of Java in Android.
With all that happening in the foreground, the 2010 edition of the JavaOne tradeshow was an otherworldly affair. Google had just pulled out, and so long-planned sessions were suddenly cancelled. The vendor space was small and confused and jammed into an unfamiliar locale. The whole thing had the feeling of a movie set in which the environs look normal, but you know your eyes are being tricked into believing that the facades are the real thing, rather than trompe l'oeil replicas. Many vendors and attendees lamented that this would surely be the last of the JavaOne conferences a great tradeshow lain low by an uncomprehending new master.
In 2011, Oracle did not fare much better. The welcome release of Java 7 was marred by the revelation that it included serious defects that the company knew about.
Like many people in the community, I decried this cavalier handling of important issues in a company that was repositioning itself as an enterprise platform vendor. But from that point on, it seems Oracle has begun to "get it," and is moving in the right direction. The Java 7 release contained a crucial innovation
invokedynamic which enhanced the friendliness of the JVM to other languages, thereby broadening its appeal and ensuring its longevity.
The company also released a completely redone version of JavaFX, the rich UI portion of Java. At the time Sun was acquired, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison specifically singled out JavaFX as a technology the company would commit to. This seemed like an odd choice, but Oracle has stuck with it, including completely rewriting the product and turning it into a useful and usable UI development tool. The company expects to get it running on iOS, at which point, JavaFX will run on all major desktop and most mobile platforms. This will make it what Qt and Adobe Flash once were widely ported, highly programmable UI development products. JavaFX aficionado and Dr. Dobb's blogger, Eric Bruno, will keep us all up-to-date as JavaFX continues advancing.
As for tools, Oracle has certainly stepped up investment in the open-source NetBeans IDE. Since the 7.0 release, each version has added new capabilities while maintaining the product's historical light and usable feel. The upcoming v. 7.3 looks to continue the trend. This, too, is a bit surprising because Oracle already has a free (but not open source) IDE, JDeveloper, that it promotes to its customers, as well as an Eclipse offering, which it inherited via the BEA acquisition. In a three-way competition, you'd expect NetBeans might have been left to the community, but such has not been the case.
As to Java itself, at the recent JavaOne conference, which had more on-site buzz than any in the last four or five years, the company made clear its upcoming plans, which continue to push Java onto new platforms, notably ARM and iOS. The language itself is evolving as well with Project Lambda (closures and enhanced type inference) in JDK 8, and modularity promised in JDK 9. And Java EE, the behemoth once known as J2EE, is on a slimming regimen that, I'm told, should significantly reduce its footprint and complexity.
Taken together, I'm inclined to agree with James Gosling's revised opinion of Oracle's stewardship, that it's been good for Java. So revised, in fact, that Gosling even appeared on stage at a JavaOne keynote this year.
However, the record is mixed in other areas. The biggest growth in Java undoubtedly comes from Google's adoption of the language for Android. So the lawsuit that Oracle filed (and lost) against the search giant is a howitzer shell fired at one of Java's biggest users and most important evangelists. Given the personalities of the two corporations, I expect this is a stand-off that will endure for a long time. Java will have to grow despite it, rather than through it.
Oracle's ambiguous relationship with the JCP and the OSS communities remain two other weak points. Except for its work with NetBeans, the OpenJDK, and the GlassFish server projects, Oracle's open-source presence is low profile, in direct contrast to Google, which is a continuous and enthusiastic contributor to OSS. And the JCP remains in an undefined state, accused by some of being a rubber-stamp to Oracle plans. Recent changes have brought a greater transparency to the deliberations of its experts, but the role of the JCP itself is unclear, as is Oracle's larger relationship with the community of users.
Neither issue, I expect, will be brought to resolution soon. Nonetheless, in the two years since Oracle acquired Java and alienated a lot of the community, it has taken many steps in the right direction. While I doubt it will ever know the love that both Sun and IBM enjoyed from the developer community, if it continues to develop the language, the platform, and supporting tools well, it will be successful enough and Java and the JDK will continue to occupy a preferred place in the development firmament.
— Andrew Binstock
Editor in Chief
[email protected]
Twitter: platypusguy


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C. S. Lewis
An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with God. But if he is a Christian he knows that what is prompting him to pray is also God: God, so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the Man who was God—that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray, praying for him.
You see what is happening. God is the thing to which he is praying—the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the thing inside him which is pushing him on—the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. So that the whole threefold life of the three-personal Being is actually going on in that ordinary little bed- room where an ordinary man is saying his prayers.
The man is being caught up into the higher kinds of life—what I called Zoe or spiritual life: he is being pulled into God, by God, while still remaining himself.
From Mere Christianity
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity. Copyright © 1952, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1980, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.


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UNC's Cam Patterson elected President of the Association of Professors of Cardiology
The mission of the APC is to lead the effort to train cardiovascular specialists.
Media contact: Laura Melega, (919) 843-8217, firstname.lastname@example.com
Monday, Nov. 5, 2012
Chapel Hill, N.C. – The chief of cardiology in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has been elected president of the Association of Professors of Cardiology.
Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, associate dean, Health Care Entrepreneurship, physician-in-chief, UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care, and chief, Division of Cardiology, was selected by his peers to serve as president of the APC through 2014.
Patterson is an Ernest and Hazel Craige Distinguished Professor of Medicine at UNC. Most recently, he was named as the recipient of the 2012 Judah Folkman Award from the North American Vascular Biology Association.
Patterson's research focus is the investigation of the processes of angiogenesis, cardiac failure, and atherosclerosis.
The Association of Professors of Cardiology promotes the professional development of its members, leads the effort to train cardiovascular specialists, and strives to be the voice of academic cardiology.


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Jazz Praise II Praise Him With Jazz
QRS Cat #860091D
Holy, Holy, Holy
Rise Up, O Men of God
I Surrender All
Flying Home
Amazing Grace (ala "Take Five")
Surely The Presence Of The Lord
On Eagle's Wings
I Love You, Lord
More Of You
The Lord's Prayer
When The Saints Go Marching In
There's Something About That Name
Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Featuring: Jim Martinez & Friends
Pianomation just got better. With Version .80 and higher you can play the mp3 files on your piano either directly from your PC or by downloading the files to a flash card or MP3 player. The first 30 seconds of each song will play. If you like an album call us to purchase a release key or purchase online.
Try music from our Entire Music Digital Library Before You Buy.
Jazz Praise II Praise Him With Jazz
QRS Cat #860091D


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If you want to be happy for a lifetime - Ride a Mopar! (Bella Cotton - 10 Tickets)Muscle Car Fan - Win a Car with a Cool T-Shirt
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is preparing for a higher profile in Iowa, where he possibly could land a knockout punch if two top rivals don't quickly fix their campaign problems and back-of-the-pack contenders such as Newt Gingrich don't move quickly to energize voters.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, recently recorded a TV campaign ad at a sheet-metal plant in Dubuque, in eastern Iowa. It's not shocking that he would prepare such ads. But every Romney step in Iowa intrigues GOP activists.
After a crushingly disappointing loss there in 2008, he sharply lowered expectations in Iowa, whose caucus is less than two months away. If Romney airs ads soon and heavily in the state, it could signal a new strategy built on calculations that his weakened opponents handed him too tempting an opportunity.
But Romney retains the option of doing little in Iowa and keeping his main hopes pinned on New Hampshire. Its primary is Jan. 10, one week after the Iowa caucus.
While Romney spoke to voters in Michigan on Thursday, once-surging rivals Rick Perry and Herman Cain scrambled to control serious political damage. And party insiders speculated on whether Gingrich, a former House speaker, could emerge as the newest hope for conservative activists who question Romney's commitment to their priorities.
Gingrich, however, trails Romney and others in organizing Iowa and other key states. And he will have to prove that his long and sometimes troubled political history can withstand closer scrutiny.
Perry, the Texas governor, rearranged his schedule Thursday to try to mitigate a disastrous debate moment in which he could not remember the third of three federal agencies he would abolish. Perry canceled a Tennessee fundraiser to appear on several TV networks and David Letterman's "Late Show," pledging to stay in the race.
He repeatedly said he "stepped in it" at the Wednesday night debate but declared in an interview, "This ain't a day for quitting nothing."
Perry's campaign sent a fundraising letter noting that all humans make mistakes. It started a website contest that asks: "What part of the federal government would you like to forget about the most?"
His supporters are watching carefully for voters' reactions.
"It was very embarrassing to Rick Perry and to others who certainly supported him, and I'm sure that many of his Republican opponents are rejoicing," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has endorsed Perry. "Right now, he's joking around about it, and it seems to be favorably received from a lot of people I've heard from."
For Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza executive, it was another day of trying to get beyond sexual harassment accusations leveled against him a decade ago and came to light 11 days ago. The allegations were made by four women, two of whom received cash settlements from a restaurant trade association Cain once headed.
Facing voters for the first time since the allegations emerged, Cain met with tea party groups in Michigan. He hopes such friendly settings can help him retain the lofty perch he enjoyed in GOP polls two weeks ago.
"How you beat Obama? Beat him with a Cain!" he told one supporter at a crowded diner in Ypsilanti, near Detroit. The crowd cheered.
Cain is airing his first TV ad in Iowa. And he has hired a new lawyer, who is warning women they will be aggressively scrutinized for any charges made against the candidate.
Perry's and Cain's woes are strengthening Romney's position, but he's hardly home free. Many conservatives still resent his past support of legalized abortion and gay rights and his requirement that all Massachusetts residents obtain health insurance.
But they have failed to coalesce around a single alternative. Rep. Michele Bachmann briefly topped the polls last summer, followed by Perry and then Cain.
Some Iowa Republicans hope former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who emphasizes social conservative issues such as abortion and gay rights, can make a move. He has visited all 99 Iowa counties and aired radio commercials.
Other party insiders feel the person best poised to rise is Gingrich, the fiery Georgian who led the GOP's 1994 takeover of the House after 40 years in the minority. He eventually lost his leadership post and left the House after clashing with then-President Bill Clinton over taxes and an unpopular government showdown.
Gingrich is adding staff in key states, opening new offices this week and raising more money than he has in months.
With Romney widely seen as the front-runner in New Hampshire, a rival must do well in Iowa to surpass him. Gingrich is popular with many Iowa Republicans, and he drew good reviews for his speech at a large dinner in Des Moines last week.
But he has little structure in place for the organizationally intensive caucuses, which require people to show up for gatherings on a midwinter night. Gingrich has not done much of the retail-level campaigning seen by past successful caucus candidates. His schedule in the next 10 days shows him visiting the state to promote a movie he produced with his wife and participate in a multicandidate event aimed at social conservative activists.
Romney has made only four public visits to Iowa this year. But a small core of advisers and staff keeps in close touch with key elements of the Iowa network he assembled in 2007.
Bachmann had a bumpy day Thursday. About 30 Occupy Wall Street protesters loudly interrupted her foreign policy speech in Mount Pleasant, S.C., saying she was dividing the nation. Bachmann left the stage but returned and finished her speech after the protesters departed.
Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt and Kathy Barks Hoffman in Michigan, Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta, Bruce Smith in South Carolina and Philip Elliott, Laurie Kellman and Steve Peoples in Washington contributed to this report. Beaumont reported from Iowa.
Romney readies Iowa ad as Cain, Perry address woes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is preparing for a higher profile in Iowa, where he possibly could land a knockout punch if two top rivals don't quickly fix their campaign problems and back-of-the-pack contenders such as Newt Gingrich don't move quickly to energize voters.


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Not surprisingly, my search into Roberts' father, Walter, was thwarted early on: He was born after 1930 — the year of the most recent US census available to the public — and I couldn't hazard a guess at which Robertses were his parents. So I turned my attention to Julia Roberts' maternal lineage. I figured I had a better chance with a surname like Bredemus. And I was right. That line led me to Colonial America, the Billingslys and a story worthy of a Hollywood epic.
I read in a Billingsly family history that Julia's sixth-great-grandfather, James, born in 1726, was an advocate for US independence from Britain. Local Tories loyal to the crown, however, took exception to his political leanings and continually harassed him. In April 1776, they broke into James' home and demanded money. When he couldn't pay up, they dragged him out the door and hung him in a tree. His wife, Elizabeth Crabtree, recorded the incident in the family Bible.
America's uncommonly Pretty Woman may display an Oscar on her mantel and earn mega-bucks for each performance, but those movie roles are no competition for the real-life drama her Colonial ancestor didn't live through.
From the August 2004 issue of Family Tree Magazine.


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INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Newman fulfilled the childhood dream of so many who grew up in Indiana — winning at storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Newman fulfilled the childhood dream of so many who grew up in Indiana — winning at storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newman, from South Bend, ended a 49-race losing streak with Sunday's victory at the Brickyard, and he did it by beating Jimmie Johnson. Again.
Newman set a NASCAR track record in knocking Johnson off the pole in qualifying, then used a fast final pit stop Sunday to snatch the win from the four-time Indianapolis winner.
The two were the class of the field — they combined to lead 118 of the 160 laps — but it was Johnson who dominated the race and appeared to be just a bit better. But Johnson pitted from the lead with 27 laps remaining and it was a slow final stop for the Hendrick Motorsports crew.
Newman pitted after that and took only two tires to move into the lead after the green-flag stops cycled through the field. The closest Johnson would get to him again was when he paid a congratulatory visit to Newman in victory lane.
Newman was remarkably composed as he took the checkered flag.
"I don't realize it yet. It's a dream come true," he said. "It can't hit you all at once, it's not good enough. It will take a week or so for it to sink in."
The victory comes as Newman is looking for a job.
Kasey Kahne, Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was third and Stewart was fourth as Chevrolet swept the top four spots. All four cars were also powered by Hendrick Motorsports.
Matt Kenseth was fifth in a Toyota and followed by Hendrick's Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, as all four Hendrick entries landed inside the top seven. Earnhardt rallied from a loose wheel on the opening run of the race to grab the top-10 finish.
Joey Logano was eighth in a Ford, and followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch, who picked up his first career win at the Brickyard in Saturday's Nationwide Series race.


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Human Rights
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Genesis Launch Webcast - August 8, 2001
Catch a Piece of the Sun
The Genesis spacecraft, launched from Kennedy Space Center, will study the Sun and bring back bits of solar wind, which may help indicate the origins of our universe.
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text:
While the US was panicking over a double zero jobs report, things in Europe just fell off a cliff. As both the WSJ and Reuters report, it seems that the second Greek bailout, following repeated and consistent disappointments by Greece which has resolutely refused to comply with the terms of its fiscal austerity program, has just collapsed.And with the US closed on Monday: long a counterbalance to European risk pessimism, this week (especially with the news fro the latest FHFA onslaught against global banks) may just be the one that "it" all comes to a head. But back to Europe, and more specifically Greece, which it now appears is doomed. "I expect a hard default definitely before March, maybe this year, and it could come with this program review," said a senior IMF economist who is keeping close tabs on the situation. "The chances for a second program are slim." It is not only Greece - Italy also thought it would sneak by with getting quid pro no and continue leeching off of Europe, or specifically Germany, indefinitely, at least until the ECB said that absent Berlusconi taking austerity seriously that implicit ECB support for Italian bonds would be yanked, sending the second most indebted country in the world into a toxic debt tailspin. And so it comes that after 2 years of waffling, Europe finally realizes that the piper always eventually gets paid. Alas, it is now far too late.
Talks over new bailout funds for Greece were suspended Friday amid disagreements over how to fill a government-deficit gap that once again is veering off track, raising doubts about the country's future access to finance and triggering renewed nervousness in financial markets across Europe.
The suspension pushed yields on Greek government debt to levels indicating that investors see a default by Athens soon as a near certainty: Interest rates on one-year paper blew out past 70% and two-year yields rose close to 50%.
The continent's stock markets also retreated, with the French market down 3.6% and the German market down 3.4%.
The suspension of the talks in Athens between the government and a group of officials representing the providers of Greece's bailout cash came, officials said, amid a dispute about how to address new gaps opening up in the government budget deficit.
"The Greek side insisted the missed targets are the result of the recession. The troika said recession played a part, but Greece basically didn't keep up with its commitments, so more measures will be needed to make up for the lost ground," said a person with direct knowledge of the talks.
"There is a clear disagreement that can't be bridged today," the person added.
Will it be bridged in mid-September, and is a market and EURUSD crash all that will take, as has been the case constantly? We will find out soon, although it increasingly appears improbable...
"I expect a hard default definitely before March, maybe this year, and it could come with this program review," said a senior IMF economist who is keeping close tabs on the situation. "The chances for a second program are slim."
Failure of Greece to meet its targets, growing reluctance by some euro members to continue lending and the fact that private-sector participation in a second bailout won't significantly alter Greece's debt profile are the primary factors, the IMF official said.
It gets worse: as Reuters confirms, the political turmoil has already spread to Germany, where all that is needed for wholesale conflagration that will sweep Merkel out of the cabinet is a tiny spark. This may just have been it:
Christian Lindner, general secretary of the Free Democrats, (FDP) junior coalition partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government, said Athens was endangering European solidarity.
"The breakdown of talks between the Troika and Greece is a blow to the stability of the euro," he said at a news conference in Berlin.
Referring to Greece's failure to meet deficit targets set in exchange for a second bailout package, Lindner said Athens was shirking responsibilities to which it had agreed.
"This is not about non-binding statements of intent, but contractually secured reciprocity for the emergency loans," he said. "We insist these agreements are observed."
Goodbye Greece:
Separately, senior FDP official Hermann Otto Solms, a vice-president of the Bundestag and an economy committee member in parliament said since Greece could not handle its debt problem and it should consider leaving the euro.
"It should be considered whether a restructuring and exit from the euro would offer better perspectives for the currency union and Greece itself," he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
The pro-business FDP styles itself as a defender of the German taxpayer, a stance Lindner reiterated in his statement over Greece.
"Taxpayers in Northern Europe and especially Germany cannot accept inability or reluctance. In the eyes of the FDP, Greece must reaffirm its will for stability and reform."
Alas, a Greek departure from the Eurozone, which now seems inevitable, will have a major impact on Europe's financial institutions. This is, however, not news to the market, which over the past few days, has sent not only the Libor-OIS spread to 70.6 bps (up 5bps overnight), or its widest level since April 2009, but has pushed Libor higher for 28 consecutive days - the longest stretch sine 2005, to its highest since August 19, 2010. Furthermore, the spread between the minimum and maximum 3 month USD Libor as self-reported to the British Banker Association, has hit a 2011 wide.
So is the worst bank some derelict husk of toxic assets like Barclays and RBS? Yes... RBS is certainly #2 in the top three highest reported Libors, or institutions that find it most difficult to procure USD funding. So who are the other two most troubled banks: SocGen? BNP? Bank of America? Nope...
That's right: CSFB and UBS. It appears that in a parody of Biblical allegory, the first shall indeed be last, as what was once a bastion of liquidity and solvency, Switzerland and its indomitable banks, is the first to topple should Greece finally be kicked out.
And should the two biggest Swiss indeed banks go out with either a bang or a whimper, then, well, all bets are off.